Saturday, October 5, 2013

Different Perspectives Of Thinking

 
 
 
 

 
 
The concepts that we have learned in the past weeks of this semester compared to what we have learned the six week are not exactly alike because the past weeks articles assigned were critical thinking. Some examples are in the image above as to what we as the listeners are trained to do. To think, analyze, synthesis, make connections, etc. For many of our class discussions we are able to come up with different conclusions to positions in readings or videos, therefore at times we do not all agree. This week literal thinking came into mind instead of critical thinking where more than one answer still is important. Whereas literal thinking the choices are very narrow. Literal thinking involves solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not always obvious and involving ideas that may not be available by using only traditional step by step logic. Literal thinking includes reporting, summarizing the information, and lastly to define. In conclusion liberal thinking will come up with an exact answer either being right or wrong. The article that I found interesting this week was “Angela Duckworth and the research on “Grit”, luck and money which was a very straight forward article that is a liberal read. One part about the article that caught my attention was when I read about “First generation college students”, because I am a first generation college student in my family. This quote stated “When first-generation students come up against obstacles in college, they have no one in their families to turn to for help, says Villanueva. College-educated families provide their students with support that many students and families may not even be aware of, but it's a powerful force that helps propel students through college. Villanueva says first-generation students are at a disadvantage.” This proclamation is something that I do not agree with because I have a very encouraging family that does support me greatly. My mom and grandma both encourage me, are concerned with my college life, and I feel can come to them for any kind of help. If my mom does not know the correct way to support me academically (so far she has in every way I’ve questioned) she knows that there are also resources on campus so in reality that is something that is out of her control. No college student has their parents holding their hands throughout the four years or more. It is my responsibility to find resources that will work for me. Parents only have a small percentage of an influence on their children by the time they are in college. I feel if you really want a degree then you will achieve that degree with hard work but family does not have the biggest influence on your success as a college student in general. So I do not agree in what the quote states for many reasons. When this quote was mentioned also Not only do first-generation students lack the kind of family support that can help them overcome obstacles in college, they also tend to face more obstacles than higher-income students from college-educated families, according to Villanueva and her colleagues at YES Prep. They may have trouble with money or financial aid paperwork. A lot of the students have to work while going to school…Many live at home and have family obligations…Research shows all of these things make going to college harder and increase the chances a student will quit. My INQ question to this is, How does this statistic only pertain to “first generation college students” and why? There are college students that may have dropped out of higher education for the same reasons listed above that are not first generation college students. What is the difference in comparison to not first generation college student drop out rates?
In a previous article “the indispensable importance of setting goals in college”, By Dennis Congos. Personally this article is beneficial because I received a different perspective about setting college goals as well as how setting goals are underestimated. I liked the quote, “The ability to set and achieve goals in college is so important that without it, it's difficult, perhaps impossible, to feel motivated to learn what's necessary to succeed or excel.”  I simply want to exceed and excel in college therefore I’m applying this quote to my everyday life, by working my best at being persistent in my school work even at tough times.   
Our vocabulary word for week six was persistence: 
      1. Quality of persisting: the quality of continuing steadily despite problems or difficulties
2.      Act of persisting: the action of somebody who persists with something.
3.      Long continuance of something: continuance of an effect after its cause has ceased or been removed.
 
 

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